Partial-birth’ abortion ban dealt another defeat

WASHINGTON — Opponents of a federal ban on partial-birth abortion have completed a complete sweep at the federal district court level.

Federal judge Richard Kopf struck down the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act Sept. 8 in his Lincoln, Neb., courtroom. In his opinion, Kopf permanently blocked the law’s enforcement and ruled it failed at least two constitutional tests. Most notably, it lacked an exception for the mother’s health, he said. Kopf’s decision followed similar rulings from federal judges in two other districts. Phyllis Hamilton of San Francisco and Richard Casey of New York City also invalidated the 2003 law, which prohibits an abortion procedure on a nearly totally delivered unborn child.